Tweet

Short Game, Long Game, No Game…Gone in 60 Sec.

Written by: Andy Marken

Article Overview: The game system roll-outs this year are classical good, bad marketing efforts. Who scored big? Who will win? Does the consumer really matter?

Short Game, Long Game, No Game…Gone in 60 Sec.

“I have money, I have taste. But I’m not on anybody’s “A” list, and Saturday night is the loneliest night of the week for me.” – Memphis (Nicholas Cage), Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)


While videogame boxes have been a yawn for 60+% of the population in the Americas for the past year.

For the rest? They are the “A” list of lust.

For MS, Sony and Nintendo the Xbox, PS3 and Wii are about percentage points. And bragging rights…serious bragging rights!

But Sony drew the line in the sand. They said…”the console war doesn’t start till we say so…”

Like Nicholas Cage in Gone saying he was going to steal 50 cars in one night. Great chest thumpin’ but who cares?

For the PS3 and Wii (and last year’s introduction of Xbox 360) it really was…gone in 60 seconds.

People camped out in front of stores for days waiting for their chance to get one of the first units.

Some didn’t get their box so they punched out, pistol whipped or used other persuasion to make their “purchase.”

A lot of the PS3 winners threw theirs up on eBay for a couple of grand.

People…it’s a game!

You may have money. You may have “taste.” But come Saturday night you’re sitting there with your lowly console staring at a screen.

We didn’t bother with the frenzy.

We dusted off our old favorite…the Atari Lynx (Figure 1).

We played while the news folks covered the launches of the PS3 and Wii.

For folks who remember the Lynx, it was cool – still is! (Even our son says so).

Nintendo still outsold the Atari Lynx, Lynx II and Jaguar.

It wasn’t about the computer inside or dazzling screen.

It was the games, the personal fun…and Nintendo’s marketing machine.

Nintendo defined the market.

Hell they made the market.

With the Wii a lot of overzealous experts snicker and say Nintendo took a wrong turn.

The gamer psychotics compare the Wii with the Xbox and PS3 (Figure 2) and define the level of excitement, enjoyment consumers want…expect…need.

Folks…look at the #s first:
- Japan’s videogame market is on the decline – 8% over the past three years according to CESA (Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association)
- Japan’s sale of hardware/software off 20% according to CESA
- U.S. market hasn’t budged past 36% for the past decade (Odyssey Research)

True the videogame industry did hit $29 billion last year (Figure 3) and it’s forecast to go to $44 billion by 2011.

That’s respectable. But:
- they are selling to the same people over and over and…
- sales cover more than just consoles (Figure 4)
- every console sale costs the respective company money…obviously they make it up in volume ??
- players can only spend so many hours home alone with their game system (Figure 5). That doesn’t change much no matter how sweaty palmed the games or how big their virtual universe
- at some point, someone has to say to management what Ray Caitri’s said in Gone.., “Time’s up Atley. Bring me the kid and we’ll settle this.”

It might even be Microsoft and Sony shareholders.

Both firms wrap $300 bills around every console they sell.

PS3’s may be profitable in 3-4 years.

Microsoft just keeps throwing money at the “opportunity.” For them the Xbox is a rounding error.

Nintendo’s initial loss per unit is much less. They expect the Wii to be profitable within a year.

The sweet spot for videogamers is 15-30. That portion of the U.S. consuming public isn’t even 50% of the total (Figure 6). And, fifty percent of that number is female (not a huge portion of the core game market).

Both Sony and MS contend their new game systems are key components of the home entertainment system. To prove it they offer super cheap blue disc players – Sony - BD, MS - HD DVD.

The fact that others in the Sony and MS organizations say the PC is the center of home entertainment doesn’t seem to bother anyone.

To make the Sony game console more compelling they give you a BD movie in the bundle (they do own content…ya know!!).

Sony sends along a copy of Will Ferrell’s Talladega Nights. Who knew hardcore gamers were NASCAR fans? Maybe it’s just Sony’s way of clearing all those discs out of the warehouse ??

Why not Pirates? Ooppss…that’s only on DVD.

To support their blue disc platform, MS announced their HD DVD player add-on and saw a boost in their sales.

Maybe that’s why Nintendo added a DVD player connector. What the heck, adds a few cents to their cost and 85% of the U.S. homes already have a DVD player.

Why reinvent the wheel?

The Sony and MS boxes are supercomputers in disguise. But at the end of the day they are game consoles.

That thrills gamers (a stagnant market for the past decade).

Nintendo’s Wii with roots deep in gaming is less powerful.

And it costs less than the muscle cars Sony and MS offer.

It doesn’t handle the brilliance of the gamers’ fantasy girlfriend. You know… her 11-inch waist, 30-inch upper torso, flaming red hair and Uzis on both hips.

Nintendo’s took a different road. The first games off the production line take advantage of their cool new controller – tennis, golf, baseball, bowling. Fun stuff for folks not interested in sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll.

In addition, while Nintendo has a long history of developing their own games, they have made a concerted effort to reach out to other developers.

With muscle car game development costs now approach the cost of Hollywood’s productions, the idea of doing less expensive, plain old fun games interest a lot of game developers and their shareholders.

After all, the 20-year-old gamer of a decade ago is now…aahhh 30.

His eye-hand coordination is going.

He’s got maybe 1.2 kids.

May not want his kids to enjoy the same violence he grew up with.

Angelina Jolie (Gone’s Sway) might have been right when she said, “I’ve discovered that you have to work twice as hard when it’s honest.”


This target market already has a couple of TV sets and PCs at house. Millions are struggling to network these devices (as challenging as the most thrill-seeking game you can play) to share photos, videos, music, stuff.

The game system is a nice add-on but it isn’t the center of their entertainment universe.

They have other things to do:
- rip and download music
- put it on their iPod
- timeshift the latest Lost TV segment to put on their portable player to watch on the train or plane or during class
- sort, file, share family photos
- edit, produce, copy personal videos
- watch The Da Vinci Code on regular DVD
- eat, sleep, study, work…bathe!

The 117-year-old Nintendo has reinvented itself a number of times since it started playing cards.

Dealing to new players at the table who already have so much going on in their lives and already have so many toys, is a lot easier than playing with street-smart kids.

If they increase their present 15% of the gaming market and pull in even 10% of the 64% of the buying public that doesn’t play with videogame consoles that would be huge.

Doing it while making money on each sale could be a helluva smart business move.

Consumers might repeat Memphis’ statement to MS and Sony…“For the next 24 hours all your decision making privileges have been revoked!”

########

illustrations/artwork available upon request -- andy@markencom.com

Related Articles
  Changing the Game
  The Game Called Public Relations
  Software Localization vs. Game Localization
  The Hole in The Sum of The Parts
  Does your game face need a face lift

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
The Game Inventor's Guidebook - by Brian Tinsman, 2002 I checked this out of my local library today and its pretty interesting... didn't address what I wanted to know, which was how to actually design an online gaming system (indeed this doesn't cover online games at all), but for board games etc. it's pretty good. Here's the TOC: 1. How they diid it: Trivial Pursuit Magic, the Gathering Dungeons & Dragons Pokemon Trading Card Game Interview with an inventor Interview with a publisher 2. How the industry works 1. What's in it for you 2. How new games happen 3. Anatomy of a publisher 4. Markets for games 3. Games and companies you should know 1. Mass market games you should know 2. Mass market companies you should know 3. Hobby games you should know 4. Hobby companies you should know 5. American specialty games and companies you should know 6. European specialty games and companies you should know 4. Self publishing 1. What am I getting into 2. Before you print 3. After you print 5. Selling a game step by step 1. How to invent a game 2. Game design 3. Game development 4. Targeting publishers 5. Before you submit 6. Eight submission strategies 7. Contacting publishers 8. Protecting your property 9. What to do if they don't say yes 10. What to do if they do say yes! 11. The game industry's dirty little secret 6. Resources and examples Publishers and mnufacturers Distributors Brokers Game conventions and trade shows Industry publications Sample query letter Sample record of disclosure Sample licensing agreement Sample option agreement
Re: I will be away - Hi Guys Thanks for the good wishes. I had a really relaxing time and as soon as I get caught up will upload some pictures of the Big Game we saw on some of the drives. No lion GT as these parks are privately owned and they don't want predators who will eat the herbivores that they have paid a lot of money for . Saw some elephant though and rhino which was great. MichelleJ
Re: What are some fun games for small business owners? - i second Bohnanza Game (aka "the bean game") as a great game for practicing negotiating skills...
Book: Secrets of Six Figure Women - Secrets of Six Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to up your earning and change your life Barbara Stanny, 2002 Jacket: Maybe you've noticed - a subtle trend is gathering steam. Quietly and steadily, the number of women making six figures or more is increasing, and it continues to rise at a rate faster than for men. From entrepreneurs to corporate executives, from white collar executives to free lancers and part timers, women are forging careers with considerable financial success. Through extensive research and hundreds of interviews, including dialogs with more than 150 high earners whose annual incomes range from $100,000 to 7 million, Stanny discovered that ...they all had certain traits in common: 1) a profit motive 2) Audacity 3) REslience 4) Encouragement 5) Self-awareness 6) Non-attachment 7) Financial knowhow She amplifies on these in the book itself. Table of Contents Intro: Welcome to the era of the six-figure woman 1. The Queen in the Countinghouse 2. The Lowdown on low earners 3. Raising the bar 4. Strategy 1: The Declaration of Intention 5. Strategy 2: Letting go of the ledge 6. Strategy 3: Get in the Game 7. Strategy 4: Speak Up 8. Strategy 5: The Stretch 9. Strategy 6: Seek Support 10. Strategy 7: Obey the rules of money 11. Claiming our power Appendces: Resources and websites Tips for getting out of dent Investing Basics: Wealthbuilding 101
My reading log - Hi OmnivoreInk, Before starting my business, I read the following books as research: -"The Art of the Start" by Guy Kawasaki -"The AdSense Code" by Joel Comm -"Don't Think Pink" and "Mind Your X's and Y's" by Lisa Johnson And since then I've continued my "research" by reading (in this order): -"Technical Tennis" by Rod Cross -"For One More Day" by Mitch Albom -"The Twits" by Roald Dahl -"Little Black Book of Connections" by Jeffrey Gitomer -"The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne -"The Profitable Retailer" by Doug Fleener -"Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell -"Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude" by Jeffrey Gitomer -"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" by C.S. Lewis -"Little Green Book of Getting Your Way" by Jeffrey Gitomer -"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling And I'm currently reading and am in the process of finishing the following: -"There's No Such Thing as Public Speaking" by Jeanette and Roy Henderson -"The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell -"The Book of Tells" by Peter Collett -"Little Red Book of Sales Answers" by Jeffrey Gitomer -"Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience" by Jonathan M. Tisch -"The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity" by Julia Cameron -"The Inner Game of Tennis" by Timothy Gallwey


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Smart & Simple Internet Techniques

Good News Travels Fast

Designing Employee-Enhancing Training Programs

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.